back to basics

[Albatross]

i have 2 basses, a Fender J 4-string and a Cort 5-string.

i had the j first...and i really love it, sense i stated playing i have always wanted a 5er, so about 8 months ago i got my Cort.
i pretty much put my j down to focus on 5 string...i got really comfortable with the B string....to comfortable, i noticed i was really over playing the B, when i had this epifiny was when i really started watching the good players.
i really look up to Danyel Morgan of Robert Randolph and the family band...i was watching him and i noticed he played the B string but not as often(actually nowhere near) as i do.
then i watched Vic when he played his....same thing.
everybody i watched..it was the same outcome.
so what i have done has stopped playing the 5er and started back playing my j.
now i have in no way given up on the 5....this is just a decision i made to start over by not having a B to rely on.

what do you think?

 

[pseudoxh4]

It's best to practice things in as many different positions on the fingerboard as possible.
With that said, even still, if you have a B-string at your disposal, I say use it to your full advantage if it means avoiding shifting; after all, what good will a 5-string do you that a 4 wouldn't if you aren't going to take advantage of the B-string?
It may be a good idea to practice shifting and not using the B-string for those rare instances where you can't use a 5-string.

 

[Rando McNally]

The only time I play my 4 string is when I'm practicing a new technique and I need a little more string spacing to get it sorted out. I love the fivers, and made the jump to them after playing a 4 string for about 5 years.

I went through this as well. It caused me to dump mad cash into subwoofers (the bag end "elf" series is AWESOME!), and I overplayed the B string, just for the sheer joy of the frequency.

I sat down with a friend who had been playing a 5er for many years to swap technique and he pointed out a couple of things about how string selection.

What it boils down to is basically two things: tone and range.

1. Tone, the B string sounds different. Playing a G sounds different on the B vs. E string. What presence do you want the note to have? Select the string you play for its sonic quality. If that makes it more difficult for your fingers to work out, then practice it, and they you get the bonus of being a better bass player as well. I used to consider the 5er a tool to "position play" (meaning play a bassline without moving my hand up and down the neck). While it does help with position playing, do your recordings ever benefit from it? No. You're playing bass to make music, and the strings are musically different. That being said, a lot of 5ers have TERRIBLE sounding B strings. Generally speaking a neck-through and a 35" scale neck improve the sound. Heavier 5 strings tend to have better B string tone, but to me, the best tones come from the type of wood in the neck. My favorite is wenge, but it's pretty rare, and you have to brave a war zone to get it. In fact, my favorite 5er is a bolt on warwick with a wenge neck and fretboard, vs. my neck through tobias with a wenge/maple laminate neck and a rosewood fretboard.

2. Range. Low B,C,C#,D and D#. Simply put, a 5er gives you these notes. This can often translate into the ability to play basslines an octave lower. That can serve a piece of music quite well, and it can completely ruin it. Your job is to figure out when it serves musically and when it does not. Just because those notes are always there doesn't mean you have to always use them.

Practice a light touch on the low B. It helps. You often don't gain any volume by hitting it hard, just mud.

But keep playing the 5er. It's worth it!

 

[jsingles]

use the B string for positions, IE getting lower notes higher on the neck as much as you desire.

otherwise its pretty simply just using your ear to decide of the super low notes are fitting in with the music or if a higher octave would provide a better sound for whatever it is youre playing. A lot of the time You will find 1 or sometimes even 2 octaves higher than the lowest possible octave of a note will sound much better for a particular song.

think about which notes will sound best, do NOT think about making sure you play notes on a particular string, thats not the point

 

[Rando McNally]

Hey, I just thought about another really important consideration for bass in general, but especially for playing a 5er.

Set up your equipment so that you have full volume with a light touch, then use a compressor. This keeps the amplitude of the strings movement low, and will bring out some of the cooler sounding harmonic frequencies. Less amplitude on the low B and you'll be able to play faster and sound better on it!

 

[Albatross]

hey thanks for the input peeps....and yea, i will fo sho not give up on the 5...i just need a chance to correct some things.
i have been playing high on the neck with the 5er i some cases for possision playing...but i play it to much also when i go down the neck as well...and it just sounds bad...i just need to practice more also.
hey, let me ask this....would it sound worse to me because of my rig...i play through a Ampeg V6-B 2-15....its kinda boomy
i have to really turn down my bass control on my head because it can get out of control.

 

[cassanova]

i have been playing high on the neck with the 5er i some cases for possision playing...but i play it to much also when i go down the neck as well...and it just sounds bad...i just need to practice more also.

How is breaking out the 4 string and putting down the 5 going to help fix all this? If anything I'd say keep going at it with your 5 string until you make what your doing sound good and exert a little discipline to ease off the use of the B string. But thats just me.

 

[Rando McNally]

This may sound crazy, but if your rig is boomy, try boosting the treble and turn down a little. This will, effectively give you a mid scoop (assuming your cab eq is a low end boost.) There are a lot of eq settings to try. Use small adjustments.

I rarely play my B string up higher than the 10th fret or so. I don't like the tone, and I don't like the action on the string up there. That's all about preference. But, playing a note up higher on the neck on a lower string will give you a "boomier" tone.

 

[Albatross]

i have been playing high on the neck with the 5er i some cases for possision playing...but i play it to much also when i go down the neck as well...and it just sounds bad...i just need to practice more also.

How is breaking out the 4 string and putting down the 5 going to help fix all this? If anything I'd say keep going at it with your 5 string until you make what your doing sound good and exert a little discipline to ease off the use of the B string. But thats just me.

good point...i can't disagree with that...it may not fix it.
i do need to add discipline to my practice....it's just right now everything i play sounds bad on the b.....it's in my mind.